Graham Barker

Honorary Research Fellow

graham@cadenza-hr.com

Department of Classics and Ancient History
Faculty of Arts Building

University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL

About

Graham E Barker studied for an MA in Classics and Ancient History at Warwick University in 2016/17. His research interests centre around Roman imperial history and archaeology with a particular focus on Roman imperial coinage of the third century AD. He has a wider interest in Roman religious festivals and rituals and especially the Ludi Saeculares or Saecular Games. He has participated in archaeological excavations at Silchester, Woodchester and Water Newton. He has published monographs on Roman imperial coinage in the British Museum magazine, the Numismatic Chronicle, The Arts Scholars Magazine and in the online magazine of the Society of Antiquaries. Graham is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and past Master of the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars. He also currently serves as Vice Lord Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire. His MA thesis from Warwick University was the basis for his first book entitled “Imperial Legitimation: the iconography of the Golden Age Myth on Roman Imperial Coinage of the Third Century AD” published by Spink in 2021. He has since published a second book, co-written with Sam Moorhead entitled “Rebel Emperors of Britanna, Carausius and Allectus” published by Spink in 2023. Both books have enjoyed a second print run and the Rebel Emperors of Britannia has been awarded the Gilljam Prize by the Royal Numismatic Society. He has delivered papers at many numismatic conferences and last year he spoke at Britannia Numismaria on CIPPI, QUINDECEMVIRI & CARMEN SAECULARE in York in July 2024.

Selected publications

Books:

• IMPERIAL LEGITIMATION: the iconography of the Golden Age myth on Roman Imperial Coinage of the Third Century AD. Spink, 2021
• REBEL EMPERORS OF BRITANNIA, Carausius and Allectus. Spink, 2023

Articles:

The Coinage of Carausius - developing the Golden Age ideology through the Saecular Games, Numismatic Chronicle 2015.

• Tracing Ownership: identifying a coin and tracing its provenance can be complicated. Graham Barker succeeds in linking two coins of Carausius to the Cotton collection. BM magazine 2015
• The Astrology of the Golden Age myth represented on Roman Imperial coinage. The Arts Scholars magazine, 2017
• Virgil’s Fourth Eclogue and its lasting legacy, Salon, Society of Antiquaries, 2020
• Mithras – the mysterious god: The Arts Scholars magazine, 2021
• Forthcoming for the Association of Roman Archaeology : The Saecular Games (Ludi Saeculares): How were they portrayed on Imperial Roman coinage and which Roman emperors celebrated them

Qualifications

• BA (in Law) Durham University, 1980

• MA in Classics and Ancient History, Warwick University, 2016